The French & Indian War, or the Seven Years' War

I have always been drawn to the first world war, the one that began in a remote glen in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1753 and by its end changed the look of the world in 1763. It sets up the American War of Independence, the decades of war between Britain and France -- in many ways, the modern age itself. For many years I have attended as a vendor the annual seminar of the Braddock Road Preservation Association at Jumonville, very nearby where George Washington ambushed a patrol of French soldiers on May 28, 1753 and sparked the world war that followed. On this page I will offer new books and classics, dvds and audiobooks, and any other worthy items of the 18th century that relate to the "wilderness war."

Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior

Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior

19.99

During the American Revolution and the border conflicts that followed, Simon Girty’s name struck terror into the hearts of U.S. settlers in the Ohio Valley and the territory of Kentucky. Girty (1741-1818) had lived with the Natives most of his life. Scorned by his fellow white frontiersmen as an "Indian lover," Girty became an Indian agent for the British. He accompanied Native raids against Americans, spied deep into enemy territory, and was influential in convincing the tribes to fight for the British.

The Americans declared Girty an outlaw. In U.S. history books he is a villain even worse than Benedict Arnold. Yet in Canada, Girty is regarded as a Loyalist hero, and a historic plaque marks the site of his homestead on the Ontario side of the Detroit River.

In Native history, Girty stands out as one of the few white men who championed their cause against American expansion. But was he truly the "White Savage" of legend, or a hero whose story was twisted by his foes?

WHISTLESTOP BOOKSHOP

Whistlestop Bookshop is an independent bookseller in Carlisle PA. Founded in 1985, Whistlestop sells new and secondhand books in all categories and a wide variety of sidelines, from magazines to puzzles, literary t-shirts to cds and dvds, from totes to local honey. Our mission is to get the right books in the right hands at the right time.